On my own
by kiarcheo
Summary: AU written for the Faberry week on tumblr: 18 june, Age difference.


As always English still isn't my first language, thanks to _slackerD_ for the help.

* * *

Quinn entered the auditorium, in search of a safe place. She might have been paranoid, but that jock really seemed to be following her, and the slushie cup in his hand didn't reassure her a bit. A flutter in her belly brought her back to reality. Her baby was kicking. And there was someone else in the room.

Quinn's heart sped up, her eyes darting around.

Daunting music reached her ears, and she unconsciously took a step forward. A voice joined the piano and Quinn found herself walking towards the source.

_On my own  
Pretending he's beside me  
All alone  
I walk with him till morning  
Without him  
I feel his arms around me  
And when I lose my way I close my eyes  
And he has found me_

A girl was sitting at the piano, fingers dancing across the black and white keys and eyes closed, immersed in her song. Quinn lost herself in that angelic voice, tears gathering in her eyes at the most beautiful, yet saddest interpretation she'd ever heard.

As the voice faded, Quinn found herself standing a few steps away from the piano. The last key finished, echoing in the auditorium. The blonde waited for a moment, as if to enjoy the silence, before speaking softly.

"This was beautiful."

The other girl opened her eyes and Quinn noticed that the brunette didn't seem startled at her sudden appearance, but she simply stared at her. The blonde wrapped her arms around her belly, self-conscious.

"Hello," the brunette greeted her with a smile. "May I enquire about your name?"

Quinn raised an eyebrow at the question, both because of the subject and because of how it was expressed.

"You don't know who I am?" she asked incredulous.

"I'm afraid that I don't possess that information, otherwise I wouldn't have asked such a question. Please, forgive me if it caused discomfort, am I supposed to know you?"

"Are you for real?" Quinn spluttered.

"I think so," Rachel frowned. "Why?"

"I'm pregnant," the blonde let her arms fall to her sides, showing her stomach. Really, she was sure she was the only pregnant girl at the school.

"I noticed," Rachel nodded. "But I thought it would have been impolite to point it out. Oh," she looked at Quinn wide-eyed. "Do you require assistance? I'm not sure I have the competence to help an expectant woman, but-"

"I'm okay, really," Quinn insisted, as she saw the brunette working herself in a frenzy. "I'm Quinn, Quinn Fabray,"

Rachel stood up from the piano bench, smoothing down her skirt. Only then Quinn took notice of the strange assemble the girl was wearing: an argyle sweaters, a pleated skirt, knee-high socks and penny loafers.

"I'm Rachel Berry," the girl took a step towards Quinn, smiling widely, and offering her hand, that Quinn shook after a moment of indecision.

The bell rang and Quinn let Rachel's hand go.

"I have to go, class," the blonde stumbled on her words, as she saw Rachel's smile dimming.

"It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Rachel recovered quickly, with what Quinn would call a stage smile.

"Me too," Quinn moved towards the door. "Will I see you again?" she asked, and immediately grimace at what seemed a cheap romance novel line.

"I'm always here," Rachel answered, taking again her seat at the piano.

.

Some days later, Quinn found herself once again in the auditorium, listening to Rachel's playing and singing.

"Quinn," Rachel took notice of her presence. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"I- sorry," Quinn fumbled. "I can go," she started to walk away.

"No," Rachel stopped. "I was merely expressing my surprise at seeing you again, but I'm delighted that it happened."

"I kinda told you I'd be back, last time," Quinn said softly.

Rachel shrugged. "I've learned that people often say things they don't mean."

The two girls looked at each other in silence, until Rachel gestured towards some chairs. "Why don't you sit down?"

"Thank you," Quinn sat down, hands rubbing her belly. "Sit next to me? It feels strange if you sit all the way over there."

Rachel stood up and walked towards her, and Quinn noticed she was dressed exactly the same as the last time she saw her.

"Are you new?"

"Excuse me?" Rachel looked at Quinn.

"I mean, I never saw you around, so I thought that maybe you just transferred," Quinn explained.

"Oh, I understand now."

"And?" Quinn prompted her.

"No, I," Rachel stopped. "I think nowadays you'd say I've been around for some time."

"Nowadays?" Quinn repeated incredulous, before starting up again. "I looked for you the past few days, but I didn't see you around school."

"As I previously told you, I'm always here," Rachel made a sweeping gesture.

"Don't you go to class?" the blonde asked shocked.

"Classes have stopped being a learning experience years ago. Young people should definitely complain about the decline of the teachers and classes and of school in general, the programs have never changed once, and they've even worsened, something I thought it was an impossible achievement."

"How old are you?" Quinn interrupted her

"Sixteen," Rachel stopped, her face thoughtful. "I think. I mean, I was."

Quinn raised a hand to stop her. "I know that it sound extremely Twilighty of me."

"Twigh-what? I don't think that word you just enounced exists," Rachel said.

"Twilight?" Quinn looked at her expectantly. "The books? The movies?"

Rachel was looking at her with a blank stare.

"Never mind," the blonde shook her head. She cleared her throat. "How long have you been sixteen?" she flushed, not believing that she actually asked it.

"Well," Rachel pondered. "I suppose you could say some time. Unless you want a precise answer, and then I'd have to do a quick calculations."

"Are you a vampire?"

"I think you would know since you've been in the same room as me for quite some time and I didn't show at any time any indication that I crave your blood. Or maybe you wouldn't know, since you'd be dead. Or un-dead. And then you'd know," Rachel was lost in her thought when Quinn spoke up again.

"You could be vegetarian?"

"Excuse me?"

"Feeding from animals, you know, and not humans," the blonde explained.

"Vegetarian vampires," Rachel scoffed. "That's the most inane thing I've ever heard. And trust me, I've heard enough. And anyway, the term 'vegetarian' would imply that they eat vegetables and not animated creatures, wherever they are animals or humans."

"Are you a ghost?" Quinn tried again.

"I think ghost are supposed to be non-corporeal entities," Rachel said, touching Quinn's arm.

"Well, what are you, then?" the blonde relented.

Rachel looked down. "I'm not sure."

.

"You said you're always here."

Quinn regularly spent time in the auditorium every day, with Rachel. She listened to the brunette singing, then Rachel would listened to Quinn talk about the baby or her life in general. And Quinn would question Rachel.

"Correct," Rachel nodded, fingers playing absently the piano's keys.

"You," Quinn licked her lips. "Haunt the auditorium?"

A cacophony of sounds exploded as Rachel pushed down on the keys too hard. "I thought I made it clear previously that I'm not a ghost," she snipped.

"I mean, it's like you're bound, some way, to the room and you can't leave it."

"Oh," Rachel relaxed, and Quinn rolled her eyes: it hadn't taken long for her to find Rachel's drama queen attitude.

"Well?" the blonde prompted her.

"No, because of the important of music and theatre in my life, the only logical conclusion is that I'll meet him here."

"Him?" Quinn asked confused and with a strange sensation rolling in her stomach. She put a hand on her belly, hoping that it would calm down her baby.

"My true love, the love of my life, my leading man," Rachel sighed dreamily.

"Oh," Quinn swallowed. "He's," she cleared her throat, that was extremely dry. "a," she stopped to think about the appropriate word. "creature like you?"

"No, he's supposed to be a," Rachel frowned, her too unsure at which word using. "like you."

"Supposed to be?" Quinn asked, suddenly feeling better.

"I've yet to meet him, unfortunately, as you can see for yourself," Rachel said, before adding. "As I'm still here, I mean."

"I don't understand," Quinn stated.

"What?"

"Everything," the blonde deadpanned.

"I see. Once upon a time I was a brilliant, young ingénue and," she stopped at Quinn's raised eyebrow. "Abridged version?" she asked sheepishly.

"Please."

"Well, I was cursed by someone who considered me a rival, jealous of my talent and impending stardom, so that I couldn't proceed with my life until I'd found true love, thus depriving humanity in the most selfish way," she sobered. "That evil being was sure that I'd be forever stuck here, because nobody would ever love me."

"He was wrong," Quinn told her, taking hold of her hand.

"I'm not so sure anymore," Rachel shook her head. "After all this time…maybe it's true."

.

Rachel and Quinn were sitting on the piano bench, the blonde slowly trying to mimic Rachel's finger movements, as the brunette was teaching her to play. The time the girls spent together had increased considerably, and after Rachel had explained to her exactly why she never left the auditorium (something about the love of her life needing to understand and accept the primary role music would always have in her life), Quinn had given up trying to get Rachel out of the room, to meet somewhere else. One day Rachel saw the attention with which Quinn's eyes followed her fingers dancing on the piano, and proposed to teach her. So now Rachel was giving a lesson.

"Rachel?" Quinn stopped her exercise.

"Yes?" the brunette continued playing.

"When you talk about your love, you always say 'he'" Quinn took a deep breath. "Have you ever thought that it could be a 'she'?"

Rachel stopped playing. "I don't understand."

"Maybe it's not a boy, the person who is destined to love you, but a girl," she explained, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Is it possible?" the brunette looked at Quinn with wide-eyed.

"What?" Quinn was confused at the question.

"Is it possible for two females to be engaged into a romantic relationship?" Rachel repeated, wonderment in her voice.

"Yes. Not everybody accepts it, but it's something quite common. My two best friend, Brittany and Santana, I talked to you about them," Rachel nodded and Quinn continued. "They love each other."

"Rach?" Quinn called softly, after Rachel had been silent for a while. "Are you okay?"

Rachel turned towards Quinn. "I never considered the possibility."

"But you will?" Quinn asked, hope shining in her eyes.

Rachel nodded. "I need to revise my plan, I need to explore the possibility, I need-" her ramblings were cut off by Quinn's lips.

"You need to kiss me."


End file.
